Wrench



' 1. F. OLIVER'AND 1. P. FLEMING. WRENCH.

'APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1919.

1,435,548, PatentedNov 14,1922,

Ezveni'oms I dsefihFUZiZ/ea Patented Nov. 1%, i922.

STATES rarest JOSEPH F. OLIVER AND JOSEPH P. FLEMING, 0F WORCESTER,BIASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS T0 CLARENCE E. WAKEFIELD, OF "WORCESTER,'IEASSAGH'USETTS.

WRENCH.

Application filed May 9,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH F. OLIVER and JOSEPH P. FLEMING, bothcitizens of the United States, residing at Vforcester, in the county ofWorcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in a Wrench, of which the following, together withthe accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The present invention relates to wrenches, and in particularto.improvements in the construction of devices of this class wherebycheapness and ease of assemblage are secured, and at the same time theoperation and adjustment of the device is made more certain.

The features of the invention are fully set forth in the followingdescription and pointed out in the annexed claims, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of awrench which embodies the invention.

Figure 2 is a side or edge view of said. wrench.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the movable jaw of thewrench.

Figure 4: is a transverse sectional view on the line 4-4;, Fig. 1.

Figure 5 is a plan View of a wrench that contains a modification of theinvention.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view on the line 6-6, Fig. 5.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in the difierentviews.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to at inclusive, the wrench herein shown isof the usual adjustable type, providing jaws for the gripping of asquare, hexagonal, or other form of bolt or nut, but it is obvious thatthe improved construction herein disclosed is applicable alike toadjustable pipe wrenches,or wrenches for other purposes.

In the form of wrench shown, the shank or bar 1 is of ordinaryconstruction, providing at one end the fixed jaw 2. Said shank 1provides the usual longitudinal toothed rack 3 that is adapted to beengaged by a screw or other adjusting device which is carried by themovable jaw of the wrench.

In general, wrenches of this class, as previously constructed, haveprovided a one piece movable jaw, having a milled opening extendinglongitudinally therethrough and 1919. Serial No. 295,937.

fitting the shank 1, whereby to guide the movement of said jawrelatively to the fixed jaw 2. The construction of such a movable jawrequires an extremely complicate-d and diiiicult casting or forging, notonly due to the formation of the hole therein, but also to the necessityof providing a suitable bearing for the screw that cooperates with therack According to the present invention, we provide a movable jaw dwhich is preferably made from a stamping of the same thickness as theshank 1. Said jaw 4, instead of having an offset portion that surroundsthe shank 1, is made with a straight edge in opposition to the edge ofshank 1 that is formed with the toothed rack 3. For slidably securingthe jaw 4t to the wrench, we provide a sheet metal yoke 5, substantiallyU-shaped in cross section, which embraces the jaw a on opposite sidesthereof and fits over the shank 1, with the bottom of the U- section insliding engagement with the edge of shank 1 that is farthest from thetoothed rack 8. A pair of rivets 6, 6, are employed to firmly unite theyoke 5 with the jaw 1, so that when assembled, the movable or adjustablepart of the wrench is constituted by two easily stamped out pieces ofmetal, rather than by the complicated and difiicult forging now inordinary use.

The adjustable portion of the wrench, carrying the jaw d, is also, asusual, adapted to carry a screw 7 that co-operates with the toothed rack3 on the shaft 1, and to this end the straight or inside edges of thejaw l proper, is suitably slotted to provide a space for said screw,'andthe yoke 5, at the end thereof which embraces said jaws, .iscorrespondingly bifurcated so as to expose said screw from the outside.The screw 7 is journalledon a pin 8, the ends of which find bearing in apair of guard plates 9, 9, that are interposed between the'ends of thescrew .7 and the sides of the slot in the 4. Said guard plates 9, 9, areconstituted by thin metallic stampings of generally oval shape, as shownin Fig. 4:, being formed with slots 10, 10, at their opposite ends, toembrace respectively the shank 1 and the j aw l. In this way, the pivotpin 8 of the screw '2' is fixed with respect to the movable jaw 4t, andfurthermore, because of the extension of said guard plates beyond theperiphery of screw 7, as shown in Fig. at, said screw is prevented frombeing accidentally turned, whenthe wrench is laid down on the bench orfloor. In other words, the screw 7 is always maintained by these guardplates 9, 9, out of contact with any supporting surfaces, and hence thepossibilty of any accidental disturbance of a given setting of thewrench is practically eliminated. In the form of device shown in Figs. 5and (3, the omission of the guard plates above described makes necessarythe provision of other means for supporting the pivot pin 8 of the screw7. In this form of wrench the jaw l is of substantially the sameconstruction as the jaw 4: of the first described form, except that theslot or opening that receives the screw 7 is provided in its sides withshallow milled recesses that receive the end of pin 8, as shown in Fig.6. its also shown in Fig. 6 the yoke 5 that is riveted as abovedescribed, to the jaw 4L, is so disposed as to overlap said milled slots11, 11, whereby to prevent sidewise movement of pin 8, the ends of thelatter being thus received in the square recesses that are provided whenthe jaw 4-. and yoke 55 are secured together by the rivets G.

The assemblage and operation of the improved construction will beapparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, itbeing clear that in each case the screw 7 and its pivot pin are set inplace before the two parts of the movable portion of the wrench arejoined together by the rivets 6.

In both cases the screw 7 becomes an inseparable and non-removable partof the movable jaw as soon as the rivets 6 are set, whereas in previousdevices of this class, the adjusting screws are liable to be lost, whentheir pivot pins become loosened through continued use.

We claim,

1. In a wrench, a movable jaw provided with an open slot, a screw freelyinsertable in said slot, and a. U-shaped member, the sides of which arebifurcated to permit the passage of the said screw when the U-shapedmember is slipped over the jaw.

2. In a wrench, a movable jaw provided with an open slot, a screw freelyinsertable in said slot, and a U-shaped member, the sides of which arebifurcated to permit the passage of the said screw when the U-shapedmember is slipped over the jaw, other portions of the arms serving tohold the screw in position in the slots.

3. In a wrench, a movable jaw provided with an open slot, a screw freelyinsertable in said slot, and a U-shaped member embracing said jaw, thesides of said U- shaped member being bifurcated to permit the passage ofsaid screw and being joined to said aw for retaining said screw inposition.

l. In a wrench, a movable jaw comprising two bifurcated members joinedtogether, the arms of said members being in register, a screw for movingsaid jaw, and a guard plate for rotatably supporting said screw andhaving a portion projecting beyond the periphery of said screw, the saidscrew and the said plate being non-remevably posi tioned between thearms of said members by the joining thereof.

5. In a wrench, a movable jaw comprising two bifurcated members joinedtogether, the arms of said members being in register, a screw for movingsaid aw, and a guardpla-te for rotatably supporting said screw betweenthe of said members and for preventing accidental turning of said screwwhen placed on a flat surface, the said screw and the said plate beingnon-removably positioned between the arms of said members by the joiningthereof.

6. In a wrench, a movable jaw provided with an open slot, a pair ofplates located in said slot a screw rotatably supported be tween saidplates, and a U-shaped member embracing said jaw, the arms of saidmemher being provided with open slots to receive said screw and platesand being joined to said jaw for retaining said screw and plates inposition.

7. In a wrench, a movable jaw provided with an open slot, a pair ofplates located in said slot, a screw rotatably supported between saidplates, and a U-shaped member embracing said jaw for holding said screwand plates in said slot, portions of said plates extending beyond theperiphery of said screw to prevent accidental turning thereof.

Dated this third day of May, 1919.

JOSEPH F- OLIVER. JOSEPH P. FLEMING. W'itnesses:

NELLIE WHALEN, PENELOPE CoMBERBAoH.

